Seeking Good-Seeking Attention
by elphabaoftheopera
Summary: "Elphie, I've been working on it, and I know the difference now." "The difference of what?" "Goodness for the sake of others versus the sake of yourself." [ONE-SHOT]


"Elphie, I promise you. It's legitimate!"

"Just because Shen Shen's grandmother taught her this archaic practice does not make it _legitimate."_

"I thought that you of all people would believe in prophecies."

"Prophecies, perhaps. That's a rather broad term and I believe that most prophecies are no more real than a dream interpretation gone wrong. But whether or not prophecies exist, I do not believe that they can be told by use of the palm of your hand, Galinda."

"Shen Shen tried it on Milla at a slumber party once and it totally had us all freaked out because it was so accurate."

"It's all psychological, Galinda. You must know that. You grasp at all of the tiny details that are essentially meaningless and put your own definition to it. It's like the people that claim they see the face of Ozma in their breakfast."

"Give me your palm."

"And did you have to bring us outside to do this? It's the middle of the night."

"It's more spiritual this way…Elphie I do so detest when you scoff at me like that."

"It's cold too."

"Oh it is not. It's a nice night. You know… _nature_ and all of that."

"Galinda you are literally the last person that would be caught dead in nature. You complained when Professor Vex opened the window during class because you were afraid that bugs might fly in."

"It's a legitimate fear, Elphie."

"As legitimate as palm reading?"

"Please give me your palm, come on I wanna try!"

"Are you sure it'll work on a green hand? Maybe the spiritual connection won't work on a green hand."

"Wipe that smirk off your face. You never let me have any fun. All because you're afraid of what the future might hold."

"What?! I'm not afraid!"

"Afraid."

"Galinda, I am not."

"Then give me your palm."

"Oz, Galinda…"

"There we go. I knew you would come around…Oz, Elphie. Would it kill you to use some lotion now and then?"

"You moisturize every second of every day, Galinda. I don't need my hands to constantly reek of enchanted sparkle forest or whatever they name those awful things."

"Hmm…this line is…interesting…"

"You don't know how to do this, do you?"

"Shen Shen gave me the pamphlet!"

"Did you read it?"

"…I figured it couldn't be too difficult."

"Galinda, you dragged me out into this field in the middle of the night so you could give me a palm reading and you don't even know _how_?"

"Wait maybe I'm reading the wrong hand. Which one is your dominant hand?"

"I'm ambidextrous."

"Ambi- _what_?!"

"It means I can—forget it. I use my left hand more."

"See? I was reading the wrong palm…here we go…here we go…"

"Galinda-"

"Elphie I'm-"

"Is this really-"

"Concentrating!"

"…Galinda why are your eyes closed?"

"I'm trying to sense your aura."

"Stop pressing your thumb into the heel of my palm."

"Your aura has a very distinct color…"

"Is it green?"

"…yes."

"Amazing. Now I didn't read the pamphlet either but I assume that one of the main components of reading a palm is that you actually look at the hand."

"Okay, I was just centering myself, Elphie. The palm reading starts…now. This…this line is your…love line?"

"You made that up."

"No, see it kind of breaks off here and…connects to that line? That's…that's good!"

"Pretty sure if a love line was real, it wouldn't be on my hand at all, Galinda."

"Shush. Now this is your life line and it's…I mean, kind of short. But that can mean anything, right? Or is that one the love line? I really don't think your life would be that short, that must be the other line."

"Maybe my life is going to be short, hm?"

"Oh, hush up Elphie."

"Maybe I'll perish within a few years. Or even a sooner!"

"Elphie, really."

"Oz, I could die tomorrow. In some horrible tragedy. I mean, hey. If it's in the lines of my palm, right?"

"Fine Elphie, palm reading isn't real! Now stop being so morbid!"

"Did I spook you?"

"You wicked, mean thing."

"Wow, you really nailed that reading. How very accurate."

"You're lucky I like to spend time with you, you know that? You're always so cross and closed minded."

" _I'm_ closed minded?"

"Yes! Yes you are! You always make such a fuss whenever I want to do something fun."

"I'm closed minded. That's a laugh. Considering everyone in this school is so closed minded that they won't even _talk_ to me."

"Well _I_ talk to you."

"…well how _good_ of you, Miss Upland."

"Oh Oz, don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Get all bitter and cold to me because you feel defensive right now for some reason!"

"That's not what I do."

"That's exactly what you do. Look, I'm just trying to be nice. You know, be a good friend?"

"Nice, good, nice, good. How good of you, Miss Galinda. How nice. Even showing kindness to the green monster, how do you bear it? How did one person get graced with so much goodness that they're nice to even the lowliest of creatures!"

"Elphie, stop it! You're playing that Ozdamn victim card again like always. Poor me, poor me, I'm so green and mean no one likes me! I love pretending like it doesn't bother me and whenever someone is nice to me I just push them away because I don't need anyone!"

"…"

"…I'm sorry…Elphie I didn't mean for that to sound so…"

"Mean?"

"Yeah…mean."

"Well maybe I needed to hear it."

"I don't like being mean."

"No because you're so good all the time."

"Stop it, okay? I'm really trying to be…Oz… you know I know the difference now. I've been working on it, and I know the difference now."

"The difference of what?"

"Goodness for the sake of others versus the sake of yourself."

"Go on?"

"…I've always been praised on my goodliness. Been taught to be friendly and happy all the time so that eventually I would be praised for it. And I was, praised for it. Constantly. It's addicting, Elphie! When people think you're so good, so nice, and tell you that…it feels good. I'm not going to lie about it, I love it. But I know the difference now. I know when I'm being kind so I can get attention for my good deeds or…if I'm actually being kind because it's the right thing to do. Even when it's not easy."

"Being kind to me isn't easy, is what you're saying."

"Well, Elphie…no! It's not! It's _not_ easy to be nice to you…because…why are you laughing?"

"I'm laughing because that's the most honest thing anyone has ever told me. I appreciate your candor. Now tell me, why are you nice to me even though it's hard?"

"Listen, when everyone was against you, it was…easy…to be a part of that. They still saw me as good because they didn't think my kindness had to extend to you. My kindness only had to extend to people who deserved it. It was all so I'm good she's not she's bad I'm good, nice versus villainous…there was no room for, like, a gray area. I started to realize how much pressure that was, to be good all the time. I didn't feel like I was being very nice, or very kind, even though people told me I was. I began to wonder, if I wasn't all good then maybe you, or anyone else, wasn't all bad…if that makes sense. It's easier on the conscious to believe that the world is divided into the good and the wicked but…that's just not true. It's not easy to be nice to you because I get a lot of criticism for it…but I know that it's the right thing to do."

"The right thing to do, even in the face of criticism, way to make me feel like a charity case, Galinda."

"I'm not kind to you because you're a charity case, Elphaba! I'm kind to you because you _deserve_ it. You deserve kindness. You deserve friendship. You deserve so much more. I'm sorry that I didn't see it at first, I'm sorry that other people don't see it now, but I'm kind to you because you're worth my time and my company and my kindness. You deserve kindness more than so many people, but you get so much less of it…and that's just not fair."

"…"

"I'm kind to you because you are my _friend_ , Elphie. I want you to be my friend. I like spending time with you, I enjoy your company…and I'm sorry if that makes you think I'm treating you like a charity case but it's the truth. So you can either accept my kindness and be my friend or you can scoff like you just did and be on your merry way. But maybe, just maybe, you can offer me a little kindness in return? I mean…you are quite a _pill_ sometimes, after all."

"…well that was quite the soliloquy Miss Galinda."

"…you're laughing at me again."

"Not at you, with you. This is what friends do, they laugh together, right?"

"Well yes but it's usually not in such a harsh cackle."

"Oz Galinda, you are so amusing."

"What are you doing?"

"Here's my palm, I want you to try to read it again."

"Okay…let's see…so which hand did we start with last time?"

"Galinda?"

"Yes?"

"…thank you."

"…of course, Elphie."

"Well…let's hear my future, hm?"

"Yes! Of course…hey, Elphie?"

"What?"

"What does ambidextrous mean?"


End file.
